AGRICULTURE OF INDIA

CONDITIONS FAVOURABLE FOR DEVELOPMENT OF AGRICULTURE

The tropical climate provides a year long growing season

throughout the country except the Himalayas.
Numerous perennial rivers which help to develop irrigation.
Heavy rainfall from the SW Monsoons in the summer and the NE
Monsoons in winter. The distribution varies from place to place and
season to season.
Large stretches of arable land plateaus, deltas and hill slopes.
Large size of the country with varying climatic conditions, such that
a variety of crops may be grown.

IMPORTANCE OF AGRICULTURE IN INDIA

It provides food to the large population.

It provides employment to 70% of the population.
It provides raw materials to the agro-based industries cotton,
sugar and tea.
It is a foreign exchange earner as India exports tea, spices, oil
seeds, cotton and jute textiles.

CROPPING SEASONS

KHARIF
June to October
Eg : Rice and Jute.

RABI
October-November to March-April
Eg : Wheat and Mustard.

ZAID/ZAYAD
March to May
Eg : Fruits and Vegetables.

PROBLEMS FACED BY FARMERS

The farmers depend on monsoons which are eratic, sporadic,

uncertain and unevenly distributed.
The methods of cultivation are unscientific, primitive tools are used
and poor quality of seeds used.
The farms are small and uneconomic due to fragmentation. Often
the farmers do not own the land that they cultivate.
The farmers are illiterate and extremely poor. There is an unsound
credit system and so the farmers do not get sufficient capital and
have no security against crop failure.

STEPS TAKEN BY GOVERNMENT TO IMPROVE THE CONDITIONS OF THE

FARMERS
 Provide good seeds, manure and better credit facilities to the
farmers.
Mechanized scientific farming programmes to educate the farmers.
Forming co-operatives and consolidating farms to make them more
economic.
Providing loans, proper irrigation facilities so that the production can
increase.
GREEN REVOLUTION

It is the term used to describe an effort to increase food production in

developing countries. The project New Strategy in Indian
Agriculture was sponsored by the Indian Council of Agricultural
Research and was introduced in 1967-68.

Main Features

Use of high yielding variety of seeds (HYV).

Improved mechanization and farm technology with proper use of
fertilizers and pesticides.
Spread of irrigation and providing the farmers with financial help.
Electrification of villages.
The 1st crop under this scheme was Wheat and the 1 st state
where it was introduced was Punjab.